The present invention relates to a power generation system and method, and especially relates to a power generation system and method which employ a solid oxide fuel cell on the exhaust side of the engine.
Alternative transportation fuels have been represented as enablers to reduce toxic emissions in comparison to those generated by conventional fuels. At the same time, tighter emission standards and significant innovation in catalyst formulations and engine controls has led to dramatic improvements in the low emission performance and robustness of gasoline and diesel engine systems. This has certainly reduced the environmental differential between optimized conventional and alternative fuel vehicle systems. However, many technical challenges remain to make the conventionally-fueled internal combustion engine a nearly zero emission system having the efficiency necessary to make the vehicle commercially viable.
Alternative fuels cover a wide spectrum of potential environmental benefits, ranging from incremental toxic and CO2 emission improvements (reformulated gasoline, alcohols, LPG etc.) and to significant toxic and CO2 emission improvements (natural gas, DME etc.). Hydrogen is clearly the ultimate environmental fuel, with potential as a nearly emission free internal combustion engine fuel (including CO2 if it comes from a non-fossil source). Unfortunately, the market-based economics of alternative fuels or new power train systems are uncertain in the short to mid-term.
The automotive industry has made very significant progress in reducing automotive emissions for both the mandated test procedures and the xe2x80x9creal worldxe2x80x9d. This has resulted in some added cost and complexity of engine management systems, yet those costs are offset by other advantages of computer controls: increased power density, fuel efficiency, drivability, reliability and real-time diagnostics.
Future initiatives to require zero emission vehicles appear to be taking us into a new regulatory paradigm where asymptotically smaller environmental benefits come at a very large incremental cost. Yet, even an xe2x80x9cultra low emissionxe2x80x9d certified vehicle can emit high emissions in limited extreme ambient and operating conditions or with failed or degraded components.
What is needed in the art is a power generation system having essentially zero emissions, high efficiency, and compatibility with existing fuels and infrastructure.
The present invention relates to a power generation method and system. The system comprises: an engine, having an intake and an exhaust; an air supply in fluid communication with said engine intake; a fuel supply in fluid communication with said engine intake; and at least one SOFC, having an air intake in fluid communication with said air supply, a fuel side intake, a SOFC effluent and an air effluent, said SOFC fuel side intake in fluid communication with said engine exhaust.
The method comprises: supplying at least a first portion of fuel and a first portion of air to an engine; reacting said first portion of fuel and said first portion of air in an engine to produce an engine effluent; introducing said engine effluent to a fuel intake of a SOFC; introducing a second portion of air to an air intake of said SOFC; and ionizing oxygen in the second portion of air such that the ionized oxygen migrates to the fuel side of the SOFC where it reacts with said engine effluent to produce an SOFC effluent.